The Redemption of Henry F Potter
by Edward Bungert
Summary: Uncle Billy wakes up early Christmas morning and remembers that he handed the envelope of cash to Henry Potter. He and his nephew George, working with Bert the Cop, seek justice in this short story sequel to It's a Wonderful Life.


p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"The Redemption of Henry F. Potterbr /by D. Edward Bungert/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt must have been three AM Christmas morning by the time Uncle Billy stumbled up the steps of his home and plopped onto his bed. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe drifted off to sleep, grinning as he played back the night's events like a Saturday matinee style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe saw his nephew George, standing next to Mary by the Christmas tree, holding little Zuzu in his arms as friends, neighbors and family poured into the Bailey house with money gifts for Bedford Fall's favorite style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe reverse playback eventually brought his mind back to a less celebratory moment and feelings of despair and worry that he had hoped he would never experience style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe saw himself sitting in his office chair, barely coherent as his nephew George violently lifted him by his collar, shouting in his face, and then leaving him to sob, completely style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe saw himself frantically walking through the snow-filled street between the office and the Bedford Falls Trust and Savings Bank as George desperately tried to jog his memory by tracing his every style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThen, a welcoming feeling of joy and pride returned as Uncle Billy vividly relived his exchange with Mr. Potter after the irascible tycoon's bodyguard wheeled him into the bank and that group of sycophants had momentarily surrounded him with cheerful, yet hollow, style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHow good it had felt to exasperate Potter with the commentem style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;", not every heel was in Germany or Japan/em, before the angry bank owner snatched back his copy of The Bedford Falls Sentinel./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanUncle Billy's heart started to pound and he sat straight up in bed as the memory of exactly what had happened to that white envelope containing the eight thousand dollars became crystal style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Potter!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span*span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span*span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span*/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe grand opening of Gower's Drug Store was probably the most important event of 1887 in Bedford style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanCuriosity even got the best of Ezekiel Potter, one of the few local farmers who had not sold any property to the dozens of factory and mill owners who had been gobbling up acreage in and around style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPotter insisted the manufacturing boom was only temporary and that agriculture was the backbone of the country. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe once threatened to skin alive the next real estate speculator who knocked on his door./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, Mr. Potter, how are you?" asked Frederick Gower, Bedford Falls' very first resident style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Is this young Henry?"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanJust fine, Dr. style="mso-spacerun: yes;" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThis is Henry."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hello, Dr. Gower," said style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"It's my birthday today!"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanNo sooner had the words left the child's mouth when his father smacked him on the side of the /br /span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Shake a man's hand and look him in the eye, boy," he style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"And nobody cares that it's your birthday."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';""I'm sorry, Poppa."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanYoung Henry did as he was told and Dr. Gower enthusiastically extended his hand in return then gestured toward another young boy, this one behind the counter, and wearing a white apron as he served sodas and ice cream to eager style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';""Why don't you have a seat there and my son, Emil, will fix you an ice cream soda." Henry's eyes widened and his face lit style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe then turned to his father who, rather reluctantly, nodded his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHenry seemed to mount the counter stool in a single bound and sat with his hands folded, smiling from ear to ear in anticipation of consuming a rare treat. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOther people were filtering into the new store and a few were stopping in the entrance to admire the new cigar lighter./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Excuse me, Mr. Potter," said Dr. style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"I think I may have to sell a few cigars."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanGower did sell a handful of them but half the people coming in brought their own and were just eager to try out the fancy new countertop style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWith its shiny brass handle and shellacked wooden base, it was the first thing one saw when entering the shop and it didn't take but a few minutes before the town was talking about style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEzekiel Potter approached the counter and started to reach for the brass handle himself, then, as if resisting an egregious temptation, snatched it style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Dr. Gower, most of the men who came in here didn't buy a style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThey used your new-fangled device and then walked right out, contributing nothing to your style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt seems like it can't possibly be worth what you must have paid for this thing."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanDr. Gower style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Mr. Potter, it's not always about immediate style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI want Gower's Drug Store to be a place for the community as style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt's a high ideal, I know, but there's more to life than maximizing wealth."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanPotter snickered style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Well good luck, Dr. style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'm afraid ideals without common sense can ruin a business."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe perused the cigar case for a style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Give me two of those Prince Cubans."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAfter pressing a dime on top of the cigar case he walked over to the counter where young Henry was finishing up his ice cream style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Father, Emil said you don't have to pay for the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt's a birthday present for me!"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"Potter furiously slapped a nickel down and grabbed his son by the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"We don't accept charity, Henry," he style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Charity does nothing but create a discontented lazy rabble instead of a thrifty working style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanNever forget that."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"Henry Potter owned the largest house in Bedford style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSix bedrooms with only one ever used and each of the remaining five covered in dust, the result of him saving a couple of dollars a month on the maid's style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe sat in his study impatiently dialing the town magistrate's home style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanEventually, even though it was still only 7:00 AM on Christmas morning, he answered./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"Without preamble, Potter bellowed, "Why isn't George Bailey in jail?"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"*span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span*span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span*/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanChristmas Dinner at Ma Bailey's house was extra joyful this style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHaving experienced what the family would always call the Christmas Eve miracle of love and friendship made this yearly tradition particularly special as the family held hands around the living room style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt was at this very table that George Bailey spoke the last words he ever said to his father, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;""Pop, you want a shock?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI think you're a great guy." /em/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanLooking across the table at his uncle, George asked, "Uncle Billy, why don't you say grace?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanUncle Billy cleared his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Thank-you-Lord-for-this-food-amen," he blurted, barely taking a breath. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"George and Mary exchanged concerned looks then Mary invited everyone to dig style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanZuzu pointed at Tommy, laughing style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Tommy!" Mary style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Take that Santa mask off and eat your food."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe immediately complied and the entire family dug in for another of Ma Bailey's wonderful turkey dinners. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';""Uncle Billy," said style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"You must be style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI think that was the fastest prayer I've ever heard."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"Uncle Billy didn't style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe just ate slowly, staring at his plate./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';""Uncle Billy!" said George a little style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanUncle Billy abruptly looked up./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';""What?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanOh, fine style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'm just enjoying dinner."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanBut Uncle Billy wasn't style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe had set out for George's house a half dozen times earlier in the day and had turned back each time, nervous about how and when to tell style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSo he decided he'd come to Christmas dinner at his sister-in-law's house and then figure out what to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPerhaps he would say style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAfter all, the Savings and Loan's shortfall was more than style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanSam Wainwright's advance was going to allow Bailey Park to build another twenty style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWhy make trouble?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';""Because Potter should not get away with it," Uncle Billy mumbled, not realizing he was speaking aloud. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';""What was that, Uncle Billy?" asked George./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';""George, can I speak to you in private for a moment?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"The two men walked into the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanUncle Billy wasted no time and told George about what had happened in the bank and how it had to have been Potter who took the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"George started to pace style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"That scurvy little style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanTo think I almost k…"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanGeorge stopped himself style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"To think I almost went to jail because of him."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanGeorge thought about that moment in Potter's office when he desperately pleaded for help because of a misplaced eight thousand style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe then remembered Potter asking specifically, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"you/em misplaced eight thousand dollars?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanOf course he knew it wasn't style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe knew because he took the money. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';""I know, style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWhat a pickle he put us style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe can't get away with that."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"George stopped pacing and turned to Uncle style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Call style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanTell him we'll be in the office late style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWe're going to see Bert first thing."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"The rest of the evening was as pleasant as could style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHarry and his wife Ruth joined them for style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThey sang Christmas Carols, toasted the dear departed Peter Bailey several times, and even enjoyed a little piano tune from Janie, George and Mary's oldest style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt felt a little sweeter at times for George and Uncle Billy as they shot each other knowing looks, understanding that tomorrow was going to be the beginning of the end for Henry style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -4.5pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 22.5pt;" align="center"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"*span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span*span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span*/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHaywood Johnson had been working for Henry Potter for style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWhen he first came to New York, his sullied reputation preceded style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAs a security man for a New Orleans' river boat company, he had to bust a few heads of drunks and gambling cheats along the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe reason he came to Bedford Falls (some would say fled to), was he barely escaped prosecution for the death of a gambler whom Johnson claimed came at him with a style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe wanted to place that life far behind him, although he hated working for Henry style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanTo be at his beck and call for fifty dollars a week was sometimes almost too much to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanBut Potter hired him no questions asked and even though the money wasn't great, it did pay the rent and kept his sickly wife, Mariannina, medicated and comfortable./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThis morning, the day after Christmas, Potter wanted to be in his office style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hurry up," ordered Potter as Johnson wheeled his boss through the bank doors and into his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe custom-made chair doubled as his office seat and as soon as Johnson pushed Potter into position the intercom style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"What?" Potter grumbled./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Magistrate Reynolds is here to see you, sir."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanPotter tilted his head, signaling Johnson to get style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Send him in."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanJohnson slipped into a back room, always ready for the sound of his master's buzzer; Potter had installed the button under his desk in case he ever needed his bodyguard's imposing figure to make an style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt would certainly not be necessary today as the diminutive and skittish magistrate obeyed Potter's summons./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Good morning, Mr. style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanMay I sit?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanPotter just smirked and Reynolds sank into the visitor chair which the mogul purposefully had designed to be four inches lower than a standard seat so he would tower above anyone sitting on the other side of the desk. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I want George Bailey arrested today," Potter demanded./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Sir, as I told you on the phone yesterday, we can only charge Mr. Bailey if the bank examiner processes your complaint…again…and requests a warrant…again."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanReynolds gulped and took a deep style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"The sheriff ripped up the warrant two days ago and told me personally that nothing could be done."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanem style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"If looks could kill/em is a phrase that was invented for moments like style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanReynolds was glad he wasn't standing because he feared his knees, at that moment, might have been too weak to support him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Get out of my office!" Potter style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAt that same moment, just two blocks down Main Street, George and Uncle Billy also sat across a desk, meeting with the man everyone knew simply as Bert the Cop./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"So, style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAfter you handed the newspaper to Potter, he went immediately into his office, right?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes, style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanOnly Potter and that goon who's always pushing him here and there."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanBert clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair, looking up at the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe hummed for a second or two then sat up and turned to the neighboring desk where another cop was just hanging up from a phone call./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Al, call over to City Hall and get me the address for a Haywood style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe's Potter's style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHave them check the file for chauffeurs' licenses."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Bert," said Al. "I saw Potter's man pushing him into the bank not twenty minutes ago."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Great," said style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Go pick him style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWe're going to have a little talk."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanTurning back to George and Uncle Billy, Bert said, "One step at a time."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanTwenty minutes later George, Uncle Billy, and Bert were in a private room with Haywood Johnson, Potter's mysterious style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanOfficer Al said he came without a problem but Potter had looked like he was about to pop a vein in his neck, he was so style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe could still be heard shouting from his office even as the two men left The Bank./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I want a lawyer," Johnson demanded./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You'll get one," Bert assured style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"As soon as you're arrested."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"On what charge?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Stealing eight thousand dollars!" shouted Uncle Billy./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Please, style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'm conducting this interview," said style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Stealing eight thousand dollars. "/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I didn't steal nothing."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Billy, is this the man who was with Henry Potter when you handed him the newspaper?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"He is."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What does that prove?" asked Johnson./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanBert stood up, walked around the table, and leaned into Johnson, nose to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Nothing at the moment but as soon as we have Potter in that same chair, do you think he's going to protect you?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe's gonna blame you, that's what he's gonna style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI did a little calling around while Officer Al was picking you style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHow do you think Mariannina is going to fare without you?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanJohnson wasn't intimidated by Bert the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe'd been in many a hot seat style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe dealt with hardened gangsters every day in New Orleans so this local yokel wasn't going to rattle style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHeck, half the cops by the river were style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanBut something deep in the recesses of his brain had been woken with the mention of his beloved style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHis wife saw him as someone much different than who he really style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIf she survived long enough and perhaps even got better, maybe he could actually be that person, starting with this very opportunity to do the right thing and tell the truth./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanBert returned to his chair and the room fell style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanJohnson spoke first./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPotter took the money," he admitted./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I told style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanOh, boy, I told style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe did it, style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe certainly did it," said Uncle Billy./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanJohnson style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"As soon as I wheeled him behind his desk he opened the newspaper, still grumbling about Baileys or style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThat's when he found the envelope inside and ordered me to take him back to the office style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe opened it slightly and we could see you, Mr. Bailey, frantically searching around the bank and then running style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThen I took him style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe thought for a moment before sticking the envelope in his desk style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI imagine it's still there."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Even after you were brought in here?" asked George./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"The cop didn't say nothing about any style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanJust that I needed to come in for style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'm sure Potter thought it had to do with my years in Orleans."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanBert placed a piece of blank paper and a pen in front of style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Write that style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWhat you just told us and sign style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThen you are free to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanGo style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanDon't go back to Potter today."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanJohnson did what Bert asked and left the station style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What's next, Bert?" George style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanBert sat back in his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Billy, you can swear out a complaint since we have Johnson's style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThen I guess the two of you can go to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'll contact you tonight once we've served the warrant on Potter. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWe'll time it just right so the courts are closed and his lawyer will have to wait until the morning to bail him out of jail."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"After what he put us through," said Uncle style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"It's all too good for that skunk."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanNeither George nor Uncle Billy said anything to cousins Eustace or Tilly when they arrived at The Savings and style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAfter exchanging pleasantries they settled into work and George began drawing up plans for the expansion of Bailey style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanUncle Billy worked with Eustace most of the day to create a ledger book where they carefully recorded the Christmas Eve gift style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAbout 5:45 PM, a most convivial Bert knocked on the door of George's office./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I believe you are the proper owner of this envelope, Mr. Bailey," said Bert, slapping the item on the desk./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanGeorge picked it up and thumbed through the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"I never would have dreamed."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It was right there in the center drawer, just like Johnson told style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanYou should have seen Potter's face, George, when I walked into his office with the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI thought he was going to pop a gasket when he couldn't reach his lawyers before I took him in."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanGeorge looked style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Where is he now?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Cooling his heels in a cell at the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWe'll give him his call in the morning then I'm sure he'll be style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI charged him with grand theft but in the end we'll probably have to settle for failure to return found style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI think tonight is the only night he'll ever spend in jail."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanGeorge buzzed Tilly on the intercom and asked her to have Uncle Billy come into his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Well, style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'm happy just knowing Potter is sitting where he is right now."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanUncle Billy came in and George handed him the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Here it is, Uncle style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt's all there."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanExcitedly, Uncle Billy took the cash and kissed the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"As my mother used to say, saints be praised."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanGeorge waved his hand toward his office style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Now go and put the money in the safe, Uncle style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanTomorrow you can work with Eustace to settle accounts with the folks." span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanGeorge style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe Christmas Eve miracle was still paying style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"What say the three of us jump over to Martini's for a drink to celebrate?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanUncle Billy happily accepted but Bert style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"I think I'll take a rain check," he style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"I want to go back to the station for a couple of hours, just in case Potter's lawyer catches wind of this and happens to slither in."/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: center;" align="center"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"*span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span*span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span*/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanGeorge and Uncle Billy stopped for a moment to say hello to Ernie who was parked just outside of Martini's, waiting, as he often did when things were slow downtown, for fares that might have had one too style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe was particularly fond of those because he'd have the business again the following day from most when he drove them back to get their cars./span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt was still pretty early so Martini's wasn't too style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThey easily found two stools at the bar and had Nick pour them a couple of style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanGeorge caught a bit of a shiver as he remembered a version of the now affable bartender that wasn't quite so welcoming, spraying a derelict Mr. Gowen in the face from a seltzer style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"To Clarence," George offered as he and Uncle Billy clinked their beer mugs./span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"To Clarence," agreed Uncle Billy before taking a healthy gulp of his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Who's Clarence?"/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanGeorge style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Just a dear friend you haven't met, Uncle Billy."/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanUncle and Nephew had a second round and talked again about the remarkable Christmas Eve experience, each offering the other descriptions of that night's many wonderful moments, including cousin Eustace joyfully pulling the handle on his adding machine and Mr. Partridge offering Zuzu his pocket watch./span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Maybe one more round, Uncle Billy," said style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanFrom the corner of his eye he noticed the man on the stool next to him abruptly get up and style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanOn the empty bar stool was a style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanGeorge grabbed it and was about to try to return it when he stopped style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe could hardly believe it as he read the title, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer/em, an identical copy to the one Clarence gave him save the inscription style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanInstead of reading, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Dear George, remember, no man is a failure who has style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThanks for the wings, Love Clarence/em, there was another inscription which read, em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"what does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul./em/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/em/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/emspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';""Uncle Billy," George said as he placed a few bills on the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Pay the bar tab and have Ernie drive you style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThere's something I have to do."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanBefore Uncle Billy could collect his thoughts enough to even ask a question, George had left the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center; tab-stops: .5in;" align="center"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"*span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span*span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span*/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Now, George, I don't think that's a good idea," Bert style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"You, well, your uncle more specifically, has accused him of a crime."/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I know, style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanBut you have to let me speak to style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI can't explain but it's important to me… really style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPlease."/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanBert shook his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"It's against my better judgment, George, but go style="mso-spacerun: yes;" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThird cell."/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanPotter was sleeping when George style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe meanest man in town was snoring loudly, still sitting in his ornately carved wooden wheelchair, probably having refused Bert's help to get onto the cot and instead insisting that he sit and wait for his lawyer to get his messages and come rescue him from style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mr. style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanMr. Potter," said George./span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanPotter woke with a start and leered at style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"What do you want?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanCome to gloat?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWell enjoy it while you can because you and that idiot uncle of yours have gone too far."/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, Mr. style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'm not here to gloat."/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Then what do you want?"/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I want to give you something."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanGeorge handed him the book, opened to the inscription, which Potter quickly read then tossed the book aside./span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So I've gained the whole world yet lost my soul?"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPotter laughed style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, Mr. style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWell, I almost style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWhen I found out you were responsible for the most despairing moment of my life, I wanted nothing more in the world than to see you style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'm just not going to do it, Mr. Potter, I'm not going to do style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThis might mean nothing to you at all but I forgive style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'm going to tell Bert to drop the charge and take you style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanGoodbye, Mr. Potter."/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanGeorge left and did what he had style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAn exasperated Bert drove Potter home in the police van./span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; tab-stops: .5in;" align="center"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"*span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span*span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span*/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHaywood Johnson turned out the bedroom light after his darling Mariannina fell style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe wasn't ready to tell her that he was out of a job and they would probably, even if he found something soon, have to move out of the Potter-owned style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe poured himself a whiskey and sat at the kitchen table, staring at nothing, when a knock at the door startled style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe walked to the door and placed his ear close./span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What?"/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mr. Potter is style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe wants to talk to you."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIt was Franklin, Potter's other driver. /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What about?"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I don't style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe called me in and told me to drive him here and bring you down."/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanJohnson considered his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanIf Franklin was here to kill him, putting up a fight would endanger style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe'd have a better chance on the street than being cornered in the tiny style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe grabbed his coat, and the .38 revolver from the side table style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPlacing the firearm in his pocket, he opened the style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Let's go."/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe street was cold and deserted as Johnson approached Potter's customized, luxury style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPotter had a ramp installed to accommodate his wheelchair so wherever he went, it went style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanJohnson had driven him in that very van to and from his estate six days a week for nearly a style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe approached the vehicle as Potter lowered the window, his hand on his hidden gun, while Franklin walked around and got into the driver's seat./span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hello, Haywood."/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSomething was style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanJohnson couldn't quite put it together but one thing was style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPotter had never called him by his first name before./span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Mr. Potter."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Haywood, I've been a hard man for almost as long as I can style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanMy father was a hard man style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI don't remember too much about my mother except that she was kind and, unlike father, a churched person."span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPotter looked away from Johnson for a moment and rubbed his temples, as if he was struggling to remember style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"She was particularly fond of reading to me the parables in the New style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI've not been able to stop thinking of the one about the ungrateful servant who, after having been forgiven a large debt, choked his fellow servant who owed him mere pennies…"/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPotter, I'm sorry," Johnson style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"I didn't want…"/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanPotter raised his style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Don't misunderstand, style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'm the ungrateful style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanNot you. Something happened to me today…tonight…which I can't quite style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanI'm feeling things that I have not felt since I was a boy. "span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanPotter reached out and he and Haywood Johnson shook hands. "Pick me up at eight thirty tomorrow."/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"br /span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe van pulled away as Johnson stood, stunned to the point that he no longer felt the cold, watching as the vehicle disappeared down the avenue./span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: -.5in; tab-stops: .5in;" align="center"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"*span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span*span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span*br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /!- [if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /!-[endif]-/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSunday morning George joined Mary and their children at church for the first time in a long style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanHe had confessed to his darling wife the night before that he had never been much of a praying style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThat had all changed on Christmas Eve and he would no longer stay home as his family attended style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanWhile the congregation waited for the pastor to enter the sanctuary, the normal low rumble of measured small talk and greetings came to an abrupt halt as all eyes turned around toward the church's narthex./span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEntering the church, pushed along in his wheelchair, was none other than Henry style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAnd much to the astonishment of every person present, they bore witness to something they had never seen on that man's face before. /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanA style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif';" /span/p 


End file.
